This part of Tamil Nadu is drought prone and the supply of good drinking water is a continual problem. Water shortage is particularly intense in the coastal saltpan area of Tuticorin where the local water tables, such as they are, have mostly been contaminated by salt. The best solution is to renovate and extend the old system of village reservoirs which has fallen into disrepair. The reservoirs or ooranies as they are known locally are dug out depressions in the ground that catch the winter monsoon rain. Typically they are ten to twenty feet deep and can cover an area of anything up to two acres. We have just completed a large renovation programme for 28 ooranies thanks to a generous one off donation of $250,000 and seek to improve other silted up ooranies when extra funds are available.

Another way to catch water is by rainwater harvesting tanks. The tanks catch the roof water via a series of gutters and a filtration system made from local available materials such as charcoal and stones. The tanks are of ten or twenty thousand litre capacity and can be situated above or below ground depending on the ground conditions. We have funded over one hundred such tanks using school roofs which enables school children to get one litre of fresh water per day whilst at school. Each tank costs around £400.